obama at the time. we got sort of tipped off to some of the talking points that you will likely hear parroted over the next couple weeks from the white house when it comes to chuck hagel. they refer to him as a straight shooter. they say he understands the world stage. also really focus on the fact that he is a combat veteran. recognize the significance of that, thomas. if he is to be nominated as he will be just about an hour and a half from now and then confirmed, he would become the first grunt, as it were, the first enlisted soldier and vietnam veteran, purple heart war hero, decorated from his time in service, to go on to be the secretary of defense. the way the white house sort of views this right now is two-fold. one, they see him despite the criticisms as a man who wore the uniform who can stand up to those generals in the pentagon. of course, the president did not serve in the military. and then with all these bruising battles in terms of the fiscal issues, the economy going forward, who better